'Natural' breast implants, using stem cells extracted from a woman's own
stomach or thigh tissue, could soon be offered to women in the UK following
the announcement of a trial beginning in May this year. Although the
experimental treatment has already been successfully trialled on a small
number of UK breast cancer patients, and has been available in Japan for six
years, this is the first time that it will be offered to healthy women.
At present the maximum increase that women undergoing the treatment can
expect is up to one cup-size, however more dramatic enlargements may be
possible as the technology develops. The treatment involves extracting stem
cells from fat extracted from stomach or thigh tissue and then injecting
them into the woman's chest. Previous trials which attempted to implant fat
tissue directly, without isolating stem cells, failed to re-grow adequate
blood vessels; however stem cells positively encourage this. Ten women are
expected to have the experimental treatment when the trial commences in May.
The treatment is less likely to lead to long-term complications than
conventional silicon implants, according to consultant breast surgeon Kefah
Mokbel, who is leading the trial at the London Breast Institute at the
Princess Grace hospital, because it involves only the woman's own tissue and
thus avoids implanting foreign objects in the body.
'This is a very exciting advance in breast surgery,' he said. 'Breasts
treated with stem cells feel more natural because this tissue has the same
softness as the rest of the breast. Implants are a foreign body. They are
associated with long-term complications and require replacement. They can
also leak and cause scarring.' The treatment could be available privately
within six months and will cost approximately £6,500, according to Professor
Mokbel.
However, some specialists are concerned about the prospect of beginning
trials on healthy patients, before results from trials on cancer patients
are available. Eva Weiler-Mithoff, a consultant plastic surgeon at
Canniesburn hospital in Glasgow, who is involved in running a European trial
of the treatment for patients who need breast reconstruction following
surgery to remove cancerous lumps, has expressed concern that patients
undergoing cosmetic surgery would be liable to skip vital follow-up
appointments.
